


The Science Behind the Supernaturals

by delfiend



Series: Steven Universe Supernatural AU [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Wizards, Other, Vampires, Were-Creatures, Werebunnies, Werecats, Werewolves, Witchcraft, Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-19 05:32:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8192009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delfiend/pseuds/delfiend
Summary: This is essentially just a collection of info regarding the supernatural beings found in my fic "Blood Lust". It is subject to change as I hone my take on the supernatural beings in my fic, and anything new will be bolded to stand out.Any specific questions you may have, feel free to ask below in the comments, and I will be sure to answer in depth and perhaps even add the info to the masterpost.





	1. Vampires

The inheritance pattern of vampirism is poorly understood, though recent studies have helped to shed some light on this subject. Vampirism seems to result from two factors: the vampirism gene and an external, environmental factor to trigger this gene into activation. The vampirism gene, like all genes, is passed down via the parents, who can either have no copies of the gene, be a carrier of the gene but not be inflicted with vampirism, or have the gene along with the vampirism disease. The only known environmental factor that can trigger vampirism is the exchange of genetic material from an afflicted individual to a carrier who isn’t afflicted with vampirism. This is known to occur in one of two ways: in the womb, if the mother is afflicted with vampirism, or by the feasting of a vampire on another’s blood. That being said, in mixed couples (human/vampire), the chances of the resulting offspring being vampires is determined by which parent expresses the affliction. If it is the mother who is the vampire, the offspring that carry the vampirism gene have an almost one-hundred-percent chance of being born vampires. A mother with vampirism can, however, have human children that don’t carry the vampirism gene, depending on the genetics of the father (be him a carrier of the gene of not having the gene at all). If it is the father in a mixed couple who is the vampire, the chances of the children being born vampires is closer to about 50%, with a 25% chance of them being born affected carriers and another 25% chance of them being born without the vampirism gene entirely.

Be it that the vampirism gene seems to act closest to the patterns of simple Mendelian inheritance for a dominant trait, most vampires who have been screened are heterozygous for the gene, meaning they only carry one copy of the vampire gene as opposed to two. Further studies done on the rare case of homozygous dominant vampirism (both copies of the vampirism gene) have shown that possessing two copies seems to have negative effects on the afflicted individual. These effects include introverted behavior, impaired social skills, more animalistic instincts, and in some cases an aversion to verbal communication. Little is known about the further psychological effects of homozygous dominant vampirism, as there are very few cases documented in the civilized vampire community.

Many questions are posed on those afflicted with vampirism and their need to consume blood. While it has been suggested blood consumption is only required of vampires so as to fuel their supernatural abilities, it has been scientifically proven to be far more crucial in the day-to-day functioning of a vampire, and was therefore made legal by the US government several years back.  Research has shown that vampires produce a whole slew of proteins and protein-based structures such as enzymes and hormones from their vampirism gene. These affect the metabolism of vampires, as well as overall hormonal balance, and has even been shown to affect the efficiency of basic bodily functions such as learning, muscle-building, blood cleansing, etc. Though the specifics of blood consumption on a molecular level are still very unclear, it is known that a vampire who does not consume the proper dosage of blood tends to become sluggish and tired, eventually cascading into muscle failure, narcolepsy, and eventually a coma and possibly death. On the flipside, vampires are highly susceptible to developing a blood addiction, or more specifically the neurotransmitters that flood the brain when blood consumption takes place. These neurotransmitters are some of the proteins produced solely by the vampirism trait, and what allow vampires their supernatural abilities of heighten sensation, hairpin reaction time, and sudden influx of strength. Blood addiction is a dangerous path that very quickly leads to death, be it from the vicious withdrawal symptoms that occur at late stage addiction, or from armed intervention when a vampire turns “feral” from bloodthirstiness. Needless to say, the FDA is working to produce blood substitutes that minimize the addictive hazardous of a vampire’s essential blood consumption.

A hot topic in the vampire community is that of sun aversion. It’s pretty common knowledge that vampires cannot be in the sun, but whether or not sun exposure is fatal is a question that researchers look to answer. The science behind the vampire’s aversion to the sun comes from a complication their vampirism gene has with the genes responsible for melanin production, the pigment found in the skin that absorbs and distributes UV radiation. Because of this complication, the melanin found in a vampire’s skin is unable to function efficiently, and therefore leaves the vampire susceptible to all sorts of cancers and diseases and sun poisoning; it is very similar to xeroderma pigmentosum, though the damage done to those afflicted with vampirism seem to compound and worsen at a much heighten rate. Despite their issues with the sun, there have been a few reported cases of vampires who have been able to exist during daylight hours, albeit with protective layers of clothing over most of their skin. These few cases all seem to have one factor in common: excessive blood consumption. Though the exact science behind _why_ is unknown, is appears there is come correlation in vampires with high levels of blood consumption and protection from the sun.

The vampire community is one that has been widely reclusive for the majority of the past few centuries, with only a few notable individuals painting the stories of legends with their irresponsible actions. Though there have been a number of vampires who managed to live undetected among the human community long before the Supernatural Inclusion Act, the movement of vampires into the suburbs and the cities is a very recent event having happened over the last decade. The human community has been embarrassingly slow to accommodate the vampires, however, aside from a few individual projects happening on the community-level as opposed to something more widespread. Because of this, most all vampires are homeschooled to accommodate their highly nocturnal lifestyles. The Supernatural Inclusion Act has, however, done wonders at producing nocturnal jobs and high-level schooling opportunities for the vampire community, who in turn have proven themselves overall to be hard workers and dedicated students with little to no adverse effect on the community at large. Blood-junkies and vampire gangs still color the public’s opinion of the vampire as a whole, unfortunately, despite being only a small percentage of the overall community.


	2. Were-creatures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this isn't formatted as nicely as the other chapter, but I wanted to get it out there and I just couldn't function high enough to make it into paragraphs. I might come back and touch it up.
> 
> So yeah. Info on werewolves and other Were-creeatures.

  * The Were community exists because of a highly spreadable disease, transmitted through a retrovirus. The retrovirus is harmless in its natural state and many people infected by it have no adverse effects. But when the retrovirus incubates first in an animal before passing to a human, it triggers the transformation of the affected individual into a Were-creature
  * Which creature a Were transforms into depends on the original host of the retrovirus that infects them. Ergo, if the retrovirus came from a wolf, the affected individual would then be classified a "werewolf". If the retrovirus came from a bear, the affected individual would then be classified a "werebear", etc.
  * Though most instances of the retrovirus have been incubated in secondary consumer animals, there are plenty of cases of individuals who were infected by a retrovirus incubated in a primary consumer, such as deer, rabbits. The retrovirus does seem to only incubate in mammals, however, or at least is only transferrable to humans when mammalian DNA is incorporated in the retrovirus. 
  * While all Were individuals are subject to a physical and mental transformation during the full moon, it seems that the special abilities associated with some Weres—such as heightened sensation, increased strength, the manifestation of "animalistic instincts" in the limbic system of the brain—are a result of selective breeding as opposed to the retrovirus. Meaning, of course, that the offspring of two Were individuals will have these special abilities to a degree, and the offspring of the original offspring will have the abilities in greater potency; this increase in the potency of a Were's special abilities seems to increase at an exponential rate, though the intermixing of Were species (such as a werewolf having kids with a werebear) appears to negate this trend, the resulting offsprings of such a pairing having little to no special abilities whatsoever
  * Though the details of the initial spread of the retrovirus are highly unknown, the retrovirus today is spread through the contact of bodily fluids. For example, if the saliva of a Were were to come in contact with the blood of a regular human individual, the chances that the human will be infected by the retrovirus and transform into a Were are very high. 
  * While modern medicine has developed "morning after" type treatment for individuals who fear they are becoming a vampire (which, similar to biological cancer treatment, targets the cells in a person's body that has turned on the vampire gene in response to a bite and kills these cells. It is a painful but almost full-proof treatment that hospitals administer several dozen times a day), there is no treatment to reverse the effects of the retrovirus once a person is infected by it due to the transformative natural of retroviruses that allows them to evade detection and destruction by the immune system.
  * Because of the irreversible and high-spreadable nature of the Were retrovirus, the government and justice system have both cracked down on promoting a violence-free Were community in the country while simultaneously cracking down arguably too viciously on any Weres who happen to spread their retrovirus to someone else, without any regard to whether there was or wasn't intent to the spread of the retrovirus. 
  * Despite the government-funded efforts to incorporate all supernaturals into society, the Were community has a long history of reclusion and maintaining small pockets of estranged societies far away from civilization, and many continue to do so. Those who do integrate into human society often face a lot of backlash from their families and communities and often end up completely cut off from all the friends and family they grew up with.
  * Used to a close-knit community, society-integrated Weres are prone to join up with a group or "pack" in their new community of other Weres. Some of these groups are elitist in their membership standards, often sticking to only a certain species of Were (such as werewolf, considered the purest and most powerful of all Were-species) and sometimes even requiring their members to have a pedigree of all Were family members. These types of groups are usually considered more of "gangs" than "packs". However, most groups in human society are not particular in their memberships standards, seeking only community from their members.
  * Weres from a long line of Weres often demonstrate a greater measure of control over their mental and physical state than newly-infected Were individuals or Weres from a mixed bloodline. This control allows them to not only manifest physical attributes of their species—for example, a werewolf may manifest wolf ears in place of their human ears, manifest a wolf tail, manifest a wolf's teeth in place of their human teeth, or even manifest claws in place of their human nails—but this also allows them to maintain the majority of their consciousness and humanity during their transformation on a full moon. This being said, Weres from a long bloodline of Weres also seem more prone to having their animalistic instincts triggered and overwhelm their conscious mind—for example, a werewolf may become more wolf-like and violent when angered past a certain point, or a weredeer may freeze up or be easily spooked in frightening or startling situations.
  * Unlike vampires, whose special abilities wax and wane based on the amount of sunlight in the atmosphere, a Were's special abilities are not time sensitive and are accessible and/or active at all times. Their abilities do, however, range with the lunar phase: their abilities are most powerful and efficient during a full moon and most weak and taxing during a new moon, and range between the two states based on the waxing or waning of the moon. 
  * A recent push from government has been drug treatment for Weres to suppress the effects of the retrovirus on their person and mind. This drug is able to prevent a full-moon transformation, and therefore is highly appealing to Weres attempting to blend into human society, though the drugs come with the taxing side effect of reducing a Weres special abilities to almost nothing, among other side effects such as redness, reduced stamina, and irritability. This drug has spurred a lot of controversy in the Were community, who mostly feel the drug is a way to repress their kind and their identity as Weres. Since the drug hit the market, there have been several instances of violence by Weres, usually towards other Weres using or promoting the drug. Though currently the drug is entirely optional, there is rumor that the government wishes to make the drug mandatory for all Weres who interact with human society—either by living within human towns and cities or even just by visiting on occasion—which, if true, would most likely mean a country-wide outrage at the very least.




End file.
